5 Free Online Tools for Your Grassroots Marketing Strategy

The Internet has changed marketing forever. A few years ago a business would have to spend more money to reach fewer interested people using Yellow Page ads and direct mail campaigns. Now with the help of the Internet, a business can spend their hard earned marketing dollars more wisely and target a group of more interested (and more likely to buy) consumers.

The Internet has also allowed for businesses to market themselves effectively for free! There are numerous, highly effective platforms available to anyone at no cost. I’d like to share 5 free grassroots marketing strategies that you can take advantage of to grow your business. Need help setting up or managing these platforms? Contact Red Egg Marketing.

Google – Google has the most free tools and products to help your grassroots online marketing strategy. The trick is to get involved in the ones that make the most sense for your business. Have a physical address? Make sure you get listed on Google+ Local. It’s free and very important have a profile on as people search more and more with their mobile phones. Learn more at www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter

MailChimp – Are you regularly sending your customers emails? Create more touch points with email marketing. Email marketing is a great Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool and can also be very useful for connecting with industry contacts and acquaintances. MailChimp has free accounts that allow you to send out 12,000 emails per month to a list of 2,000 recipients. Check out www.mailchimp.com for more information.

WordPress – Many businesses have gotten themselves on the map by participating in blogging and WordPress is by far my favorite platform. You can set up a free blog at WordPress.com and begin sharing your thoughts and expertise. Need a website too? You can build it using WordPress! WordPress is a very powerful program that gives small businesses the ability to have a dynamic website at a fraction of the cost it used to. Visit www.wordpress.com for more information.

Facebook – There are a number of reasons to set your business up on Facebook. Facebook still has the largest social audience and the most business tools. Setup a free business page and start connecting with your customers socially. Get started at www.facebook.com/business.

Yelp – Yelp has become a popular site for consumers to read reviews about local businesses. Even if you haven’t signed your business up for Yelp you may already have a profile and customers may have already reviewed you. When you take control of your business on Yelp you have access to your profile on the site and can respond to reviews, edit business information and more. Create or claim your Yelp page by visiting biz.yelp.com.

These are only a few examples of the powerful marketing tools the Internet has to offer. Depending on your business some may make more sense to invest your time and energy in than others. To learn more about these programs and get advice on which ones may benefit your business the most, please contact us.